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Khosrow and Shirin
by
Nezami Ganjavi
general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author
| Title: | Khosrow and Shirin |
| Author: | Nezami Ganjavi |
| Genre: | Epic |
| Written: | ca. 1191 (Eng. 2024) |
| Length: | 377 pages |
| Original in: | Persian |
| Availability: | Khosrow and Shirin - US |
| Khosrow and Shirin - UK | |
| Khosrow and Shirin - Canada | |
| Le roman de Chosroès et Chîrîn - France | |
| Chosrou und Schirin - Deutschland | |
| Khosrow e Sirin - Italia | |
| from: Bookshop.org (US) |
- Persian title: خسرو و شیرین
- Translated and with an Introduction by Dick Davis
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Our Assessment:
B+ : fine edition and translation of a quite grand romantic epic
See our review for fuller assessment.
| Source | Rating | Date | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| East and West* | . | (26:3/4) 9-12/1976 | Massimo Scaligero |
| The Washington Post | . | 9/2/2024 | Michael Dirda |
[* review of a translation into a different language]
From the Reviews:
- "Critics all agree in admiring the keen psychological investigation, the fluency of the author's thought in describing the various situations of the poetical tale. Original ideas, picturesque descriptions of details, whimsical imagery and comparison determine a happy synthesis between the Persian language and the technical, philosophical, scientific terminology of the time." - Massimo Scaligero, East and West
- "Once again, Davis emulates the original’s rhyming couplets, this time to tell the story of the last great pre-Islamic king, Khosrow Parviz, and his passion for the beautiful but strong-minded, almost proto-feminist Shirin (pronounced shih-REEN). It’s a fascinating work that challenges and rewards the modern reader in equal measure. First, by today’s narrative standards, Nezami’s style is slow-moving, baroque and flowery. (...) Still, Nezami’s expressions, in Davis’s English, can be striking on their own (.....) At times, one can even read the poem as an allegory of, and invitation to practice, a kind of Sufi mysticism" - Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.
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The complete review's Review:
Nezami builds his story of Khosrow and Shirin on foundations found in the great Persian epic, Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, -- already explicitly presenting his work as a continuation of Ferdowsi's in the poem's opening verse:
The earlier poet who recalled the storiesFerdowsi's epic is based on historical events: Khosrow Parviz is an historical figure -- he ruled Iran from 590 CE to 628 CE -- and Shirin was a real-life Christian (and possibly Armenian) princess. Nezami's account also follows the basic history that Ferdowsi chronicled, but offers a much more elaborated (and freely-imagined) story of the romance and relationship than Ferdowsi had.
Of ancient heroes, and of former glories,
This is the stirring history that he told:
Khosrow and Shirin first learn of one another through the painter Shapur, a close friend of Khosrow who will repeatedly act as a kind of intermediary between the two. The descriptive chapter-titles in Khosrow and Shirin generally spell out very clearly what happens, chapter by chapter; so also the early one, where: 'Shapur Describes Shirin and Khosrow Falls in Love with Her'. Here Shapur recounts his travels to Khosrow, including through the great empire ruled over by Mahin Banu; Shirin is her niece -- and Shapur goes on at great length about her, extolling all her great qualities, beginning:
"This fairy child ... But no, she is far more ...(He also notes the appropriateness of her name: "Her lips are sweet, and 'sweet' is what 'Shirin' / Her name's two syllables moreover mean".)
A moon, whose like was never seen before,
Whose face beneath her veil's the pinnacle
Of everything esteemed as beautiful,
Khosrow is swept up by what he hears -- "He was entranced by Shapur's tale and grew / Bewildered, sleepless, unsure what to do, / Asking each day for it to be repeated" -- and eventually sends Shapur off to see Shirin, to potentially press his suit (if she's open to the idea of getting married). Shapur does find Shirin -- and tries to sell her on the idea of Khosrow by having her come upon portraits of Khosrow he has painted, which do indeed make quite the impression. Shapur makes his case to the princess:
"His image stirred you; now learn what is real,Shirin can't hold herself back -- she tells he aunt that she's going to go off hunting, then ditches her entourage and rides off on trusty horse Shabdiz:
The man himself, and then see how you feel !
Shirin rode tirelessly, urging ShabdizMeanwhile, Khosrow runs into some trouble at home, his "calculating enemies" cleverly making his father, King Hormuz, suspicious of him; he is advised to get out of town and lay low for a while, which he does. The star-crossed lovers pass each other in the night, almost but not quite connecting -- and so: "happiness / Turned into hardship, darkness, and distress".
To scour the world and find Khosrow Parviz
Nezami suggests that such a turn of events is not an unusual story (and makes for a good story), noting:
When heaven has a new event in mindAh, if that were all that there were to it ..... Shirin reaches Khosrow's palace -- but he, of course, isn't there. She is treated well enough, for a while, but feels she can't stay; she demands a castle-retreat -- and: "the concubines, still rancorous / Against Shirin" are happy to see to it that she gets what she deserves. A place is set up for her, but it's a dump and in: "A godforsaken spot, located far / From everything familiar everywhere", and there:
It tweaks its veils to show what it's designed:
Before a peasant finds a fortune, he
Should be reminded of adversity --
How can a man be gratified to own
Roses, and shady trees, and crops he's grown,
If he has never seen dry thorns and dust,
And drought and famine, as a peasant must ?
So, a few days of being kept apart,
Of agony within a lover's heart,
Will turn a longed-for lovers' meeting after
Such absent hours to happiness and laughter.
The castle seemed a prison, and ShirinKhosrow hasn't given up on her, but things get in the way -- notably when it becomes time for him to succeed his father, and he assumes the throne:
A jewel locked up where it cannot be seen --
She longed for Khosrow, and distraught with love
Renounced both this world and the world above.
His heart longed for Shirin, but still he knewWorse yet, when he is challenged by "headstrong Bahram", Khosrow again flees -- but his path crosses that of Shirin, and it seems that destiny has finally been fulfilled. They spend happy days together -- until Khosrow is too forward, and: "Shirin would not permit / The outrage he was hoping to commit"; soon enough Khosrow leaves in a huff; as the next chapter title has it, things move fast: 'Khosrow Indignantly Leaves Shirin and Travels to Rome, Where He Is Married to Maryam'.
His kingdom's health must be attended to --
On the one hand, his state affairs obsessed him,
And on the other, thoughts of love possessed him.
He's on a roll then, too, vanquishing Bahram and regaining his kingdom; he would seem to have it all -- and yet:
He'd married Maryam; his devoted wifeShirin also succeeds her aunt to a throne -- but she too still: "grieved that she and Khosrow were apart". Khosrow also can't let go, and tries to convince his wife to let him bring Shirin to live with them -- promising: "I won't see her, of course" ..... Maryam does not think much of this idea -- "It's better Shirin stay where she is", she suggests firmly -- but Khosrow is pretty determined. Shapur again acts as intermediary between him and Shirin, as they try to come to some sort of arrangement.
Had made a Christian heaven of his life,
But still, for all his treasures, in the end
His heart was fixed upon his absent friend.
I don't say pleasure and Khosrow had parted,
But all his pleasures had become half-hearted.
A new complication comes in the form of Farhad -- "a knowledgeable, expert engineer" whom Shapur introduces to Shirin. Unfortunately, he immediately falls head over heels. Nezami describes Shirin as so seductive that when she spoke: "Even great Plato hearing her would sink / Into a faint and find he couldn't think" -- and her effect on Farhad is even greater:
When Farhad heard her voice, like searing fireYes, he has it bad -- and that's before Khosrow finds out that Farhad is in love with Shirin. Khosrow has Farhad brought to him and interrogates him -- in one of the epic's more creative chapters, which has a line-by-line back and forth between the two, presenting: 'Khosrow's Questions, and Farhad's Answers'. Khosrow then tries another tack, giving Farhad a commission -- to cut a pass through a mountainside. he's so certain that the task is an impossible one that he even accedes to Farhad's one demand, if he is successful: that Khosrow: "has to help me win Shirin, and say / That he's renouncing her in every way". So certain is Khosrow that Farhad will fail at the task that he agrees .....
His blood boiled with insatiable desire:
He sighed and fell, and felt himself submit
To violence like an epileptic fit --
And twisting , turning , hardly conscious, wound
His body like a snake's across the ground
Shirin does have some feelings for Farhad, and this situation gets between her and Khosrow, so that even when there appears to be an opening -- Khosrow's wife dies -- the two would-be lovers can't quite come together, as suggested also by the chapter-title: 'Shirin's Sarcastic Letter of Condolence to Khosrow for the Death of Maryam'. A long song and dance follows, as they finally begin to sort their love out, beginning with chapters alternating back and forth between the two ('Shirin Answers Khosrow', 'Khosrow Answers Shirin', etc.) and then some literal singing (on their behalves) in a further series of backs-and-forths ('Nakisa Sings on Behalf of Shirin', 'Barbad Sings on Behalf of Khosrow') -- though it's not a simple, straightforward romantic progression. Still, they do get themselves sorted, and eventually: "The bud of happiness bursts into flower"
There are some comic scenes in the epic as well -- beyond the ones just of ridiculous exaggeration -- including also here, when the two are finally united, when Khosrow has too much to drink and Shirin, who certainly: "would not / Be intimate with such a wretched sot" plays a trick on him, sending an old crone to him in her stead. But when he's learned his lesson and sobered up everything is finally settled:
He placed within her oven's kindly heatKhosrow and Shirin are finally happily together, and Khosrow becomes a just and wise ruler -- but it's not all wine and roses. Just as everything seems to be going so well, Nezami mentions that, hey, Khosrow:
The bread that made their union complete.
had a son from Maryam, his first wife,Shiruyeh also has his eye on Shirin and wants her for his own -- and then gives her a week after he has gotten rid of dad to become his wife -- leading to the final chapter, 'Shirin Dies in Khosrow's Tomb', the two now together for eternity.
Named Shiruyeh; his breath stank, his whole life
Was like a donkey's, stupid and inane,
While noxious, foolish intrigues filled his brain
It all makes for a somewhat unusual romance-tale, with the hurdles the would-be lovers face an unusual mix. Their continuing obsession with one another, even as other figures vie for their attention, is well-presented, even if some of the turns in the story come very abruptly (not least, the appearance of Shiruyeh).
As the many quoted sections above make clear, translator Dick Davis presents the poem in rhyming couplets, giving a bit of a sing-song feel to the whole that makes for quite agreeable reading. There's decent poetry to it too, with Davis' English clear enough -- i.e. not too tortured -- to both convey Nezami's poetic turns and allusion as well as capturing some of its poetry. Five hundred and fifty-four endnotes are helpful too -- especially, as Davis intended, for those readers not familiar with Persian poetry. (The only overkill in this regard is that he endnotes several of the same terms repeatedly -- but perhaps readers are constantly forgetting what, e.g., 'homa' means .....)
Despite its somewhat odd pace (which includes the chapters themselves, which vary considerably in length) and arc, Khosrow and Shirin is a thoroughly engaging epic tale -- with romantic leads who are (even despite Shirin's name ...) not simply saccharine-sweet and put some obstacles of their own up before reaching (kinds of) a united happiness. This edition is very accessible, and Dick Davis' translation reads smoothly and well.
- M.A.Orthofer, 25 April 2025
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Khosrow and Shirin:
- Penguin Classics publicity page
- Mage Publishers publicity page
- Ariele publicity page
- Ḵosrow o Širin by Paola Orsatti at the Encyclopædia Iranica
- Excerpt
- Journal of Suicide Prevention
- La Revue de Téhéran (French)
- Notes du mont Royal (French)
- Publishers Weekly
- Shahriar Mandanipour's Censoring an Iranian Love Story
- See Index of Persian and Iranian literature
- See Index of Novels in verse and epics
- See Index of Poetry
- See Index of Books Written Before 1900
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Nizami (or Nizami Ganjavi; نظامی گنجوی) is the pen-name of Abu Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Mu'ayyad. He was born in Ganja (in what is now Azerbaijan) around 1141, and he lived there until his death, around 1209. He is author of a number of significant works, including five masnavis collected as the Khamsa ('Quintet') or the Panj Ganj ('Five Treasures').
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© 2025 the complete review
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